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| Principia athletics photo |
After serving Principia in many different capacities for over 40 years, Principia head men's basketball coach Mike Bushong has announced his retirement, effective at the end of the 2015-16 season. Assistant men's basketball coach Todd Zimmerman has been appointed as the interim head coach for the remainder of the school term. A nationwide search for a permanent men's basketball coach will begin immediately.
The Panthers were 5-18 this season and have gone 64-182 in Bushong's 10 seasons, from 1985-90 and 2011-16.
Bushong played for Principia and was inducted into the school's Hall of Fame in 2010 for his outstanding contributions as a player. Coach Bushong has coached basketball at every level – from middle school through professional.
Bushong is the all-time assists leader at Principia, and still sits at No. 2 all-time in scoring. As a player in college, Bushong garnered all sorts of awards and also played briefly with The Spirits of St. Louis in the ABA.
Bushong's first coaching gig was as the head coach of the Southern Suns (semi-pro) in 1976-77. He posted a record of 62-1. He has coached at the college and high school levels through the decades, including the distinction of being involved with four of the five winning seasons of Principia basketball in the past 50 years.
Principia athletic director Lee Ellis said: "We were grateful to have Mike come back to Principia after being at the school, especially when the program was spiraling downward. Even though we haven't had a huge amount of wins, he has done a lot of work to get the momentum going forward with the program. He has acquired some really good kids and created a formula that leads to success. We are grateful for all the contributions he has made for Principia."